Lionel Messi explained that his celebration after scoring against Egypt was a "moment of release" after his earlier missed penalty had threatened to see Argentina eliminated from the World Cup.
The Argentina captain saw his first-half penalty saved by Mostafa Shobeir, the second time he had missed a spot kick at these finals. It was his fourth miss from 12 yards in eight World Cup penalty attempts.
Had Messi converted, it would have levelled the score at 1-1. As a result, Argentina found themselves 2-0 down when Mostafa Zico scored Egypt's second on 67 minutes.
Then fate intervened, according to Messi. After Cristian Romero's goal reduced the deficit, Messi thumped home from close range to make it 2-2 for his eighth goal of the tournament. He ran to the corner flag, jumped twice into the air while pumping his fist and pointed to the Argentina faithful in the stands at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Enzo Fernandez's header in the third minute of added time completed a remarkable comeback for Argentina, although Egypt were unhappy at some of the decisions they felt went against them.
Argentina's 3-2 win sent the title holders through to a quarter-final showdown with Switzerland in Kansas City on Saturday.
"The truth is that it was a moment of release, a release for all of us," Messi said after the game.
"I was feeling intense anger because of the penalty I wasted, and because of the way I took it. I felt like in that important moment, I had let the team down.
"But fortunately, God had something special in store for me once again in the end, and I was able to score the equaliser.
"That was a huge release, and immense joy for us, and for those fans who came again and prove every day what it means to be Argentine, and how much pride they give us."
Messi was in tears when the final whistle blew after an exhausting game in which his team looked set to head home until three goals in 14 minutes.
Egypt felt aggrieved at the final whistle. Zico had an earlier goal ruled out by VAR after Lisandro Martinez was fouled in the build-up, and the Pharaohs felt they should have had one of their own for a foul on captain Mohamed Salah before Fernandez scored the winner.
But in the end, just as they did against African opposition in the previous round, Argentina found a way to win through the sheer will of Messi.
Teammates gathered around Messi to celebrate the result in what is almost certain to be his last World Cup.
Relieved teammates threw Messi into the air before they all embraced each other after another remarkable comeback.
"I'm very emotional; the players call me the crybaby. I even teared up in the dressing room," Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said after the game. "But the players also feel many emotions; they are playing for their country, but this was unforgettable and one of the best moments."
"Messi showed it too. I don't know if the emotion is on the same level as the World Cup final, I can't be in Messi's head, but he plays football for moments like this. He loves playing, feeling the ball, feeling the emotion and we want him to enjoy this for every final moment because once you retire, you regret it for the rest of your life."
Messi's goal in the 83rd minute, his 21st World Cup goal, was his eighth of the 2026 World Cup and took him top in the race for the Golden Boot ahead of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
It was the ninth successive World Cup match in which he had scored and the sixth consecutive knockout match in which he had scored. Both are records.
Teammate Julian Alvarez described Messi, who led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar four years ago, as a "legend".
"There are no more words to describe him. The World Cup he's having is impressive. We're trying to help him, accompany him and enjoy every moment alongside him," the striker said.
"We want to thank him for everything he does for us, for how he is with us."
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